Page 53 of A Wedding in the Bay

“Sure.”

Without speaking, the two of them stepped inside the sanctuary of the church. It felt hushed, as if the air was already starting to tingle with expectation. They walked down the aisle together, and Wesley felt his excitement growing. His father shook his hand one more time before taking his seat, and Wesley took his place in front of all the guests.

He turned his eyes toward the back of the church as the ceremony began to start. His heart was filled with happiness as he waited for his bride to come down the aisle.

Josie looked down the aisle of the church, grasping her bouquet tightly with both hands. Her heart was racing, and she felt confident that she had never been more excited in her life. She knew that Wesley was waiting for her at the front of the church, waiting to become her husband and spend the rest of his life with her.

A beautiful violin solo began to play, and she knew that was her cue to begin walking down the aisle. She stepped through the doors, and everyone stood.

Her eyes locked onto Wesley, who was standing at the end of the aisle, his eyes shining. She grinned as she saw him blink away a few tears.

She began to walk down the aisle, carefully taking it step by step. She felt that if they hadn’t rehearsed the ceremony the night before, she might have just followed her impulses and run down the aisle toward Wesley.

Around her, her friends and family members were murmuring and smiling—and she saw a few people wiping tears away.

“Oh, she looks beautiful.”

“I love that dress.”

Josie smiled, hardly hearing the words that were being whispered around her. She kept her eyes on the end of the aisle, where she could see Wesley gazing at her with love in his eyes. Standing near him was Paige, who was Josie’s maid of honor. Having her little sister there close by made the wedding feel so much sweeter, and Josie could see how thrilled Paige was for her. It was clear in every line of the younger woman’s face.

Josie reached the end of the aisle, and Wesley took her hands. She squeezed his tightly, feeling that she’d suddenly become anchored. She took a deep breath, and the two of them grinned at each other as they began their vows.

The ceremony seemed to pass almost in a blur. They said their vows, keeping their eyes on each other, and she felt flooded with love for him. Time seemed to slow down and speed up all at the same time, and her heart kept fluttering with joy.

Their guests were quiet, watching the ceremony entranced, until it was announced, “I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride.” Then the room filled with cheers and applause as Josie’s husband took her in his arms and kissed her.

The applause continued as Josie and Wesley walked back down the aisle together as husband and wife, holding hands and grinning from ear to ear. Around them, their loved ones were smiling and crying.

The reception began shortly after the ceremony, and Josie and Wesley began to wander through the room, greeting their guests. Everyone congratulated them warmly and hugged them or shook their hands.

When they were about halfway through greeting all their guests, Wesley looked over her shoulder and his eyebrows rose.

“What is it?” she asked him, feeling suddenly nervous.

He smiled. “Look,” he said, and turned her around.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Josie peered through the crowd of their wedding guests, wondering what Wesley was telling her to look at. And then all at once she knew.

“It’s my mom,” she whispered, feeling her heart leap up.

Behind her, Wesley squeezed her shoulders, and she blinked back tears of happiness. She was thrilled to see her mother there—and looking so well! Josie watched as her mother looked around the room with a quiet smile on her face.

I can’t believe she’s here, she thought, feeling her heart swell. I kept telling myself it wasn’t going to work out, and she wasn’t going to be here.

When Josie was younger, her mother had been unreliable, and she hadn’t been able to convince herself that her mother was going to come to her wedding. Now that she saw her mother standing there, a weight of tension that she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying evaporated.

“You should go talk to her,” Wesley said, squeezing her hand. “I’ll come by soon—I’m guessing you’d rather talk to her by yourself for a minute.”

She kissed his cheek. “Well—not quite by myself.” Across the room, she could see that Paige had also noticed that their mother was there, and her heart warmed to see the way her sister’s eyes had lit up.

He grinned at her, understanding what she meant, and gave her hand a final squeeze before she started to hurry across the room toward Paige.

“Mom is here!” her sister gushed, folding her into a hug the moment she reached her side. “Let’s go talk to her!”

“Definitely,” Josie said, feeling her heart flutter with nervousness in spite of how excited she was.

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